Maurizio Sarri explained he is changing the way Napoli play to suit the new figures after a 3-0 victory at Palermo.
“At this stage of the season it’s difficult to get much training in because of the schedule. I have great faith in this squad and am convinced we’ve got a very strong side,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
Maurizio Sarri explained he is changing the way Napoli play to suit the new figures after a 3-0 victory at Palermo.
“At this stage of the season it’s difficult to get much training in because of the schedule. I have great faith in this squad and am convinced we’ve got a very strong side,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
“Tonight I chose Piotr Zielinski because he was with me for a year at Empoli and therefore knows my football. I wanted wingers who were good at bombing forward and had to rest some who returned from international duty tired.”
Lorenzo Insigne and Christian Maggio were given rare starts, while Arek Milik seemed rather isolated in the first half.
“We are working on keeping the wide forwards closer to the centre-forward and getting the best out of the characteristics of the current players.
“We had seven or eight crosses in the first half and Milik was dangerous even by himself, but as soon as we started putting more players into the box, we immediately scored.
“It was a good first half and we were dominating the game without allowing counter-attacks. Palermo inevitably tired and allowed us a few more spaces. We don’t want to transform our philosophy of football, but we are making a few adjustments to the movements.”
Is there extra pressure on Sarri this season or perhaps even less considering Higuain’s departure?
“Naples is a very demanding place and I take it as love rather than pressure. The fans are in love with this team, they have shown they can forgive us when we make mistakes, so I don’t feel excessive pressure. I feel more the need to make them happy sooner or later, which I would love.”
Juventus famously built a winning team with the money from Zinedine Zidane’s sale, so could Napoli do the same?
“At the time Juve chose players who were already fully-formed. We signed young players who will certainly have a great future and I am glad for the next two or three years Napoli will have talented youngsters to grow.
“Unfortunately we have some players like Amadou Diawara and Nikola Maksimovic who had tormented summers and therefore haven’t trained very much, while Lorenzo Tonelli was injured for most of the season, so they all need extra fitness work.
“When there are 10 days for international duty and then seven games in 21 days, you don’t have time to work with the team as a whole.”